MURFREESBORO – Middle Tennessee senior Reed Blankenship was honored as the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week Monday after helping lead the Blue Raiders to a 34-28 upset win over Marshall. It is the third honor of Blankenship's career.
Blankenship, the all-time leading tackler in Blue Raider history, had seven tackles to go with two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble and a pass breakup to key the home win for Middle Tennessee.
Late in the third quarter with Marshall threatening to pull to within one score, Blankenship picked up a fumble and raced 90 yards to the end zone to give the Blue Raiders a critical score.